Jbl K2 S9900

Last Sunday I had the good fortune to pick up a pair of JBL K2 S9900 loudspeakers. It was a six hour round trip for me and a six hour round trip for the dealer who met me half way between SF and LA in SLO (look it up). I heard these at the California Audio Show in the SF Bay Area earlier in the summer, along with lots of other amazing speakers, including Revel Ultima2 Salons, Salks, Magicos, and more.

In the end, the K2 s were the ones I couldn't get out of my mind. I had a few obstacles to overcome, like potential competing buyers, how to pay for them, how to transport them, and even how to get them into the house, but it all worked out eventually.

To say I'm in bliss would be an understatement. Of course, now the gear I have feeding them looks long in the tooth. Most of it is a decade or more older and clearly not up to snuff, though it all sounds better than it ever did before.

So now I'm thinking of stereo preamps, CD players, gosh maybe even a TT.

I should never leave the house especially if an audition is on the agenda.

Here are a couple of detail shots, hopefully showing the design and quality construction. In the UHF horn there's a Be driver. In the midrange horn there's a Mg driver, and under the grille is a 15" woofer. The networks behind the Al casting are charge-coupled, meaning the caps are always charged by a 9-volt battery.

I've got a lot of moving around and listening to do before I pronounce them "there." The room is a bit of a challenge, but at the same time, the speakers are sounding very, very good.

Last Sunday I had the good fortune to pick up a pair of JBL K2 S9900 loudspeakers. It was a six hour round trip for me and a six hour round trip for the dealer who met me half way between SF and LA in SLO (look it up). I heard these at the California Audio Show in the SF Bay Area earlier in the summer, along with lots of other amazing speakers, including Revel Ultima2 Salons, Salks, Magicos, and more.

In the end, the K2 s were the ones I couldn't get out of my mind. I had a few obstacles to overcome, like potential competing buyers, how to pay for them, how to transport them, and even how to get them into the house, but it all worked out eventually.

To say I'm in bliss would be an understatement. Of course, now the gear I have feeding them looks long in the tooth. Most of it is a decade or more older and clearly not up to snuff, though it all sounds better than it ever did before.

So now I'm thinking of stereo preamps, CD players, gosh maybe even a TT.

I should never leave the house especially if an audition is on the agenda.

Excellent I would guess that those are great speakers, I heard the K2 9800 a few years back and was quite impressed. , I am envious , Could you write a small review on how they sound one you've set them up, thanks in advance. You old gear may work nicely, afterall the speaker is not at all demanding, 8ohm nominal if I recall

Of course, now the gear I have feeding them looks long in the tooth. Most of it is a decade or more older and clearly not up to snuff, though it all sounds better than it ever did before.

Congrats on your latest JBLs. That brings the count to...? Having seen the picture of the gear in room, I have a suggestion: swap the position of the power amp vs. the device below it. Putting a preamp directly on top of a power amp is not ideal in multiple respects.

Congrats on your latest JBLs. That brings the count to...? Having seen the picture of the gear in room, I have a suggestion: swap the position of the power amp vs. the device below it. Putting a preamp directly on top of a power amp is not ideal in multiple respects.

rw

Thanks.

It's mostly a convenience thing, as in "the bottom shelf won't support the amp." You're correct, though, and I'll get it sorted out this weekend.

Placement

Don't worry guys, I'll get them to the right placement eventually, but I'm doing it a couple of inches at a time. I make measurements and notes as I go.

The owner's manual is a bit more open on placement than normal.

Originally Posted by K2S9900 User Guide

The surrounding environment for the speakers affects bass quality. Placing the speakers closer to the wall behind them or to the side walls will result in an abundance of bass, but placing them too close will result in dull bass. On the other hand, too much distance will reduce the bass output but result in fast and sharp bass. The low-frequency alignment feature enables placing the speakers near (or even in) a corner without producing an overabundance of bass. This corner placement allows optimal performance, even in small rooms. Find the most suitable location by using various source materials.

So, in other words, I need to take my time and experiment for the right placement. Luckily, I have the time and the space to do it, as long as I don't rush to judgment.

I now have them about 14" forward of the back wall and 8" in from the side walls. Each change adds and subtracts something on the response curve. This weekend, I'll give it quite a try in several locations and see where I'm at.

I also plan to have some local guys bring over their best preamps and CD players for some swappin' good fun. It could get crazy!